Oil Control Valve Location

Some advice, please. I went to remove and clean the OCV's last night but after removing what appears to be the one bolt that holds each one in place they won't budge and I did not want to force anything. Grant it, after 350,000 miles I was not expecting them to just come out easily. How much effort should there be to remove them?
Also, in regards to the filters as mentioned above, that bolt shown by
Jimmyh
in the picture above, it sure seems to be far away from where the OCV is, that's the filter?

Thanks in advance

 

Only filter on either head. Unless the filter is internal to the OCV.

Spray WD-40 on the o-ring, while twisting the OCV. At 350k, you had better get some new o-rings.

 

Sub'd

 

I chased an acceleration problem for months and it turned out to be a bad OCV ('08 4Runner, same 4.0 engine). There's very little info out there on this problem. The valves themselves are easy to remove, you just have to use a screwdriver to coax them out of the bores enough to get past the o-ring. I tested mine and one of them would stick when applying 12V to the connector pin. After installing new ones the problem has never reappeared. The weird thing is that I never thew a code of any kind, but it would run bad enough that it felt like 1/2 the horsepower was missing. The thing that tipped me off was that the problem reared its head after every oil change, then gradually got better after 500 or more miles. I figured it may have something to do with greater oil viscosity when the oil was fresh, so I started thinking about what would be affected by oil viscosity. That's when I pulled the OCV's and tested them.

There are, in fact, two filters that are directly related to the OCV's - and they do clog, so clean or replace them. The OCV's operate on oil pressure, so a new OCV with a clogged filter will not cure the problem. There's one on each head, exhaust manifold side, near the front. Passenger side is easy to get to, driver's side needs the alternator dropped down. It's a long, thin, cylindrical screen with a plastic housing that pushes into the end of the bolt that you remove. If you remove the bolt and you don't see a screen, it's still in the bore and can be removed with tweezers. Almost looks like a coffee filter. Both of mine were filled with some kind of scale-like material. Engine only had 100K on it. A spray down with brake cleaner made them look like new.

 

Great explanation, thanks

 

This might help. These are looking at the passenger side of the engine. Visualize the driver's side and you'll see why you have to drop the alternator to get to the bolt/filter on that side. About an ounce of oil will spill out when you remove the bolt, so be prepared with some rags or paper towels.

 

Can you explain the accelerator problem you had?

For a while my truck has had this problem where I would loose acceleration after hitting bumps.

My truck just rolled over 100,000 miles this morning, and P0022 came up at the same time to help me celebrate.

It's been running rough so I am actually glad since I was waiting for a code to help me fix it... at idle the whole truck seems to shake.

I think I will try to clean the OCV filters

 

I'm having a similar issue with my 2008 4.0L Tacoma. Very rough idle when stopped and still in drive (or reverse) but goes away in neutral. It only seems to act up when the engine is warm. Engine light came on and pulled code P0011. Also, if I'm driving at a low speed with barely any pressure on the gas peadal, it shudders like I'm driving over a washboard.

I put it in to a local garage to do the initial diagnosis. They initally pulled P0300, P0301, P0305, P0011, P0016, and P0456. They found a lose bolt on one of the ignition coils and re-tightened, cleared the codes, took it for a test drive, and called me to come pick it up. I drove it for about 5 km and the rough idle came back (and the engine light).

I then took it to Toyota. They pulled only one code. P0011. I was told its most likely dirty oil. They changed the oil, added a conditioner, cleared the codes, took it for a test drive, and called me to pick it up. I put 20km on it that night and another 30km on it the next morning before the rough idle came back and of course the engine light.

I went back to Toyota for further diagnosis. They said it appears the VVTi gear is sticking and possible timing chain stretched. They quoted me $2200 in parts and 17.5 hours labor. I then asked if they could check the Oil Control Valves. They told me they checked the OCV and it was in spec. (I guess they only checked the valve on bank 1 side). The mechanic then said try running some SeaFoam in the crankcase. I put 150ml of SeaFoam in the crankcase and drove it for about 50km and changed the oil. No luck. Rough Idle is still there when the truck warms up.

I since replaced the plugs with Toyota plugs but still no luck. Two of the plugs had large gaps when they were removed.

Any suggestions on where to look next?

I'm trying eliminate all the small things before considering ripping the engine apart or replacing the engine if its cheaper.

 

Simple - pull the oil control valves and check them yourself. I would not trust that the dealership did this at all.

 

Yeah your probably right Fullboogie. What do I need to remove to get at the OCV's? Besides the engine cover and air box?

 

interesting.
Tell me if OCV could do this:

I have a very intermittent power loss. Mainly when doing moderate accelleration from stop. Feels like i have fraction of normal power and seems like it doesn't want to get over 3k rpm or 40 mph. Like the feeling you'd expect if shifting a manual from 2nd to 5th. No codes. Just no power to accellerate. Let off the throttle a second then punch it and it's back to normal. Only happens a couple times over span of months. Usually accompanied by pinging near 3k rpm.
Of course can't replicate at dealer.

2015, V6, automatic.
First happened around 32000 miles. Now at 50000 miles.

 

Yep. One bolt, then twist/rotate the valves in place to get them loose. Use a screwdriver to gently pry on the bolt tab to extract the valves from the head. They can be really stuck in there due to the O ring, so just keep working them.

 

That is exactly what mine felt like. No codes, intermittent problem, etc. Not sure how yours could be bad on such a new truck, but testing the valves is so easy it's worth trying.

 

Great, Added to the list.

 

P0011 - Camshaft Position "A" - Timing Over-Advanced or System Performance (Bank 1)
P0011 - Camshaft Position "A" - Timing Over-Advanced or System Performance (Bank 1)
P0300 - Random Misfire Detected
P0301 - Cylinder 1 Misfire
P0303 - Cylinder 3 Misfire
P0305 - Cylinder 5 Misfire
P0016 - Crankshaft Position - Camshaft Position Correlation (Bank 1 Sensor A)
P0011 - Camshaft Position "A" - Timing Over-Advanced or System Performance (Bank 1)

Phew. Is Bank 1 driver or passenger side? It's dark here so I can't check now, but i'm hoping the SC isn't in the damned way.

 

Bank 1 passenger side

 

Thanks!

So, my check engine and slip indicator lights lit up solid while driving in some nasty rain, about 3 hours from home, but I persisted without really noticing any dramatic loss in performance. The next day, things went downhill pretty quickly. Severe sputtering and almost no power right from the get go, and the slip indicator light stayed solid, but the check engine light started flashing after a bit of driving. I hobbled it up to the auto parts store and ran the codes (see my previous post). Then today, I swapped out the passenger side OCV ($125) and it was a breeze. If you're needing to do this, it's definitely something you can do with the most basic of tools. My CAI was in the way, so I scooted that over, and there were a few plugs that needed to be disconnected and scooted over, then it's as simple as loosening one bolt, pulling the old oil control valve out, and sliding the new one in and reinserting the bolt. Also, I don't think the S/C added any extra obstacles.

 

Happy it worked out for you. It's an odd problem that does not get much attention, and it does not always throw codes.

 

you guys using OEM parts getting something else like from RockAuto?

 

@Gmarq_ try this thread